Miss-Delectable
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http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/201328/1/.html
SINGAPORE : Badminton is being increasingly enjoyed by the disabled, namely the deaf, and the sport is likely to be included in the 1st South East Asia Deaf Games, hosted by Singapore in 2008.
A Deaf Badminton Championship was held in Singapore recently, after an absence of more than three decades.
It looks like any ordinary badminton match but for the players, it is a world of silence.
Despite missing out on all the sounds, they are definitely not short on passion.
Visual scoreboards, gestures and eye contact help them stay in the game.
Still the players have devised other ways of overcoming the odds.
"Usually before the match we will talk to each other and see how we can compete. For example I will stand in front my partner will play at the back -- that's how we compete," said deaf shuttler Ginny Ong, who competes in the women's under 17 category.
While the shuttlers have it figured out, what about the referees?
Said badminton referee Yoon Kok Thean, "The game is obviously quite different but we have the student volunteers to help us out. These are the people who know sign language and it makes it easier for us."
The players are now preparing for more competitions.
Loh Eng Meng, vice president, SRCDeaf, said, "We have five months to prepare for the Malaysia Games for the Deaf in August and another two moths to prepare for the Asia Pacific Deaf Badminton Championship in India this year."
For now, the Sports and Recreation Committee of the Deaf is setting up a team and looking for sponsors.
And based on the performance of the shuttlers at the championship, the organisers are confident that the local shuttlers are ready for the big stage.
SINGAPORE : Badminton is being increasingly enjoyed by the disabled, namely the deaf, and the sport is likely to be included in the 1st South East Asia Deaf Games, hosted by Singapore in 2008.
A Deaf Badminton Championship was held in Singapore recently, after an absence of more than three decades.
It looks like any ordinary badminton match but for the players, it is a world of silence.
Despite missing out on all the sounds, they are definitely not short on passion.
Visual scoreboards, gestures and eye contact help them stay in the game.
Still the players have devised other ways of overcoming the odds.
"Usually before the match we will talk to each other and see how we can compete. For example I will stand in front my partner will play at the back -- that's how we compete," said deaf shuttler Ginny Ong, who competes in the women's under 17 category.
While the shuttlers have it figured out, what about the referees?
Said badminton referee Yoon Kok Thean, "The game is obviously quite different but we have the student volunteers to help us out. These are the people who know sign language and it makes it easier for us."
The players are now preparing for more competitions.
Loh Eng Meng, vice president, SRCDeaf, said, "We have five months to prepare for the Malaysia Games for the Deaf in August and another two moths to prepare for the Asia Pacific Deaf Badminton Championship in India this year."
For now, the Sports and Recreation Committee of the Deaf is setting up a team and looking for sponsors.
And based on the performance of the shuttlers at the championship, the organisers are confident that the local shuttlers are ready for the big stage.